There's nothing wrong with loving Super Mario, The Legend of Zelda, or Metroid. But for all the deserved fame and accolades these series regularly garner, there's always going to be a little guy left in the dust because he was just a smidge less shiny and wonderful by comparison. It's the faithful that give you a knowing nod when you mention just how great a title like Wave Race 64 or Ice Climber is. Here's a look at five franchises that have been sitting idle and waiting patiently to get a chance to prove themselves to a bigger audience.

5) Balloon Fight

Last Title: Balloon Kid (Game Boy, 1990)

As the opening act for Nintendo's 30 years, 30 cents anniversary sale on the Wii U Virtual Console, as well as an attraction (in spirit) in Nintendo Land, it's not like Balloon Fight hasn't been paying us any visits. The problem is, we haven't really seen this fun, simple concept evolve in 20 years. The last leap was in the Game Boy pseudo-sequel Balloon Kid, which shared a similar play-style to the Balloon Trip mode from the original NES game. A great portable title (that I hope makes its way to the eShop), it had solid aesthetics and fleshed out the other half of the Balloon Fight formula in a subtle but great way. I think it's time this series found its way back to us on the heels of its current resurgence. An eShop release, either for 3DS or Wii U, would be able to keep costs down on the retail side, allowing more people to give the game a shot. I'm thinking the series could benefit from a New Super Mario Bros.-style multiplayer element, with that frenetic sort of "help vs. hurt" state of mind taking place in the forced-scrolling environment of Balloon Trip mode. Single player might be able to stand having some power-ups thrown in to add some variety to the proceedings. There's a lot of potential here, because Balloon Fight has that timeless, easy-to-learn, hard-to-master type of gameplay of the Mario Bros. games.

4) Ice Climber

Last Title: Ice Climbers (NES, 1985)

Outside of being a perennial giveaway game, Ice Climber hasn't seen much action outside of Smash Bros. cameos. Which is a total shame, as this is one of the most under-valued series in Nintendo's lineup. Climbing up a mountain to retrieve stolen (presumably frozen) veggies, Nana and Popo are an adorable Eskimo-themed duo wielding mallets to fight off giant condors, polar bears, and fuzzy... icy... round... things. Anyway, the gameplay is fun, with interesting light environmental puzzles forcing you to be tactical about monitoring enemies and deciding which floor to break or zooming cloud bank to jump on. While not as technically impressive as some other early NES titles, Ice Climber is notable for its quirkiness and simple, solid gameplay. Like Balloon Fight, I think this is another series that could see new-life in the form of an eShop release. Competitive vs. cooperative multiplayer could also really liven things up, especially if you can squeeze in two pairs at a time, one against the other.

3) F-Zero

Last Title: F-Zero GP Legend (Game Boy Advance, 2004)

F-Zero GX usually comes to people's minds as the "latest" F-Zero game, which is technically true if you only count console releases. But this fun (though easier) GBA game is actually the last time North Americans have had the pleasure of seeing Captain Falcon and company in action. Like its Gamecube predecessor, GP Legend has a story mode along with the typical tournament and time attack modes. Along with Balloon Fight, F-Zero for the SNES recently came to the Wii U via the 30 cent sale and also has an attraction in Nintendo Land, meaning it's in the forefront of peoples' minds and primed for a rebirth. With F-Zero GX as the framework, putting it on Wii U in HD, featuring online multiplayer, a course editor, DLC, and perhaps even a more robust, ambitious story mode could propel this series in a similar fashion to what Fire Emblem Awakening has done for the Fire Emblem series. Perhaps this could be Retro's follow-up to their mystery project?

2) Wave Race

Last Title: Wave Race-Blue Storm (Gamecube, 2001)

Though we haven't seen an official release since Blue Storm, we did get some watercraft fun in Wii Sports Resort, so at least we know Nintendo isn't averse to jet skis still making an appearance on their consoles. While Wave Race doesn't scream for attention the way the other titles do, with their colorful characters and catchy music, it's a rock-solid racing game that is unique for a couple of important reasons. One, the incredible water physics. While I loved Blue Storm, to me, Nintendo has yet to top what they did with Wave Race 64. Second, the buoy gimmick is classic, adding a layer of strategy to the races beyond just muscling past your opponents. Third, the environments, which can range from beautiful tropical waters to the grimy sea between oil tankers. I'm thinking a return to the unforgiving physics and fun of Wave Race 64 would be the perfect way to land the franchise on the map. Embrace the horsepower of the Wii U and bring us some incredible water effects, stunning environments lush with detail (day/night cycles, meaningful weather variety), a killer soundtrack, and perhaps an even more robust and rewarding in-race trick system, and this is a series waiting to explode. And you just gotta bring back the N64 announcer-don't even try to argue.

1) Earthbound

Last Title: Earthbound (SNES, 1995)

Spend ten seconds on the Wii U's Miiverse and you'll almost certainly see people demanding Nintendo just re-release this game, so it should come as no surprise that this game ranked number one on my list. Earthbound, to me, has sort of rocketed past being a cult curiosity to a full-blown Nintendo legend (don't look at me like that, Link). Praised by many for its humor, interesting battle system, and intriguing story, Earthbound was sadly ahead of its time, launching to middling sales. Though it received a third installment on the GBA in Japan (Earthbound is actually the sequel to the first game, not released in the US), Nintendo has, for lack of a better word, refused to bring it westward and has cited issues with "licensing" preventing the SNES title from getting onto the Virtual Console. At this point, I think that Nintendo owes it to the fans to do everything they can to at least give us a shot to buy the game on the Virtual Console. Fans can put up or shut up, show they're serious, and then maybe we can look forward to getting some ports of the Japanese versions we have yet to enjoy. I'm thinking if a VC re-release won't do, why not a 3D Classics version? It could draw in new gamers with its flashy looks and give old-timers something different to justify a new play-through. Regardless, I don't think Earthbound needs much fixing or tweaking, just a second chance.